Scientifically True: Trees for Happier and Healthier Lives!

There’s just something about trees that helps take the edge off all the craziness in our lives.

It’s no big secret, but trees bring happiness to our lives.

It all began in 1984, after a researcher noted that patients who had rooms with a window overlooking trees were discharged earlier than patients with rooms overlooking walls. As straightforward as it may seem, with greenery more therapeutic than a brick wall, this sparked a further study later conducted by a team of researchers from the United States, Canada, and Australia, all led by a professor at the University of Chicago. So just what was this study?

In Toronto, data was gathered block-by-block. The data measured two key things: distribution of green space and how healthy the people living in the area felt. After isolating income, education, and age, the researchers were able to draw correlations between how healthy people felt and the number of trees in the area. For every 10 trees on the block, the people felt an increase of 1% of healthiness.

What’s more is that the U.S. Forest Service similarly discovered a relationship between the growing number of residents succumbing to various health illnesses in relation to their proximation to areas of degrading trees; those who lived in or near areas with dying trees often felt the effects in both health and in money spend trying to either help the tree or remove it, ultimately impacting happiness.

Interestingly enough, the study further revealed that the trees planted along sidewalks and other public areas that really made a difference to people’s health. Just driving by it or even seeing it seemed to bring an increase of happiness and health to nearby residents.

So the next time you want to do something to help brighten up your life a bit more, think about trees. They’re your subtle happiness increasers!

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